Policymakers

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is employing a two-pronged strategy to confirm more of President Joe Biden’s nominees before the end of the year, when many will have to be returned to the White House and renominated. He’s under increasing pressure to overcome the blockade Republicans have mounted on dozens of key defense and foreign policy positions, as well as noncontroversial positions, that are essential to the president carrying out his policy goals.

Does a progressive activist who wants to weaken copyright and speech protections belong on the Federal Communications Commission? President Biden thinks so, and bizarrely so do the leaders of conservative Newsmax Media and One America News Network (OAN). Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said Newsmax is “being sidelined in favor of a small number of mega-corporations who dominate the channel line-ups.” OAN President Charles Herring hailed Sohn’s commitment to “diversity in media.” The two execs may be hoping Sohn will target Sinclair and Fox News.

Vice President Kamala Harris talked up the broadband benefits of the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure package, which included $65 billion for broadband buildouts and adoption. Harris was tapped by President Biden early on to be his point person on the goal of universal internet access.

Republican senators are alleging that the Twitter histories of Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] and Federal Trade Commission nominee Alvaro Bedoya, which include jabs at Fox News and

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to consider the nominations of Gigi Sohn to be a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission and Alan Davidson to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Sohn has a history of advocating for open and affordable communications networks. She is a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

The Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance two of President Joe Biden's nominees:

Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], President Joe Biden's pick to fill the vacant seat on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, will pave the way for the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections if confirmed by the US Senate.

A coalition of 18 center-right organizations sent a letter to the US Senate opposing the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission. "[Sohn's] views on Title II are emblematic of her longstanding tendency to promote policies that over-regulate the industries in the FCC’s jurisdiction," says the letter.

In an unexpected twist, two conservative news networks — Newsmax and One America News Network— have come out in support of President Biden's progressive Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], despite a broad conservative consensus against her. If Sohn is confirmed, her appointment would give Democrats the majority they need to rewrite regulations for the communications sector.

In response to the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President and CEO Gordon Smith expressed concern over Sohn's involvement with streaming service Locast. Sohn was a board member at Locast, a non-profit streaming service that transmitted local broadcast signals over the internet. In September 2021, Locast suspended service due to a federal judge's ruling centering on copyright issues.